In terms of a significant test for the No. 8 Cal women's basketball team before the start of Pac-12 play in January, it didn't get much better than No. 19 Kansas on Friday night at Haas Pavilion.

That the Bears raced to an 88-79 victory to improve to 9-1 and match the best start in school history speaks to the progress coach Lindsay Gottlieb has made in trying to forge an elite program in Berkeley.

"It felt like it was a big-time game in our gym, and we did what we had to and won," Gottlieb said. "It was (to) keep getting better and meet the challenge in front of us. ... They made it very tough on us. It was a quintessential Cal win; different people stepped up."

One of those people was senior all-conference guard Layshia Clarendon. She scored 28 points, one off her career high, to go with five rebounds, three assists and two steals. She seemed to take charge whenever the Jayhawks were on the verge of making a run, especially in the second half.

As when Kansas cut Cal's lead to 73-69 with 6 minutes left. Clarendon saw an opening in the paint, drove and pulled up for an 8-foot jumper that gave the Bears a 75-69 lead with 5:51 left. Kansas never got closer than six points the rest of the way.

"That was one of the best games we moved (the ball) in a while," Clarendon said. "A lot of open shots. That was an advantage."

Overall Cal shot 36-of-65 from the field and seized a 40-27 advantage in rebounding, including 19 on the offensive end. Top rebounder Gennifer Brandon was in a funk in the first half with only one board, but she woke up in the second half to grab nine more to go with 17 points.

Three other Cal players finished with double-figure scoring, including the 13 that forward Reshanda Gray got off the bench. Center Talia Caldwell had 12 points, and guard Afure Jemerigbe had 10.

"It's what they've been all year," Kansas coach Bonnie Henrickson said of Cal. "They get you in transition because they all run. They have great speed."

With 5:06 left, Brandon gave Cal its biggest lead to that point at 77-69 as she saw an opening and drove for an uncontested layup.

Just when Kansas seemed poised to take the lead early in the second half, the Bears scored twice to create a 52-46 cushion. Brandon took a gift steal and drove for a pull-up jumper, and seconds later busy point guard Brittany Boyd fed Caldwell for a layup on the break with 16:38 left.

"We need to embrace who we are," Gottlieb said. "We are one of the most athletic teams, and we always want to use that to our advantage. We want to come at you with waves of speed and tempo."

The first half ended on an upbeat note for the Bears as they took a 42-35 lead into the locker room. With the seconds ticking down, Boyd saw a clear lane to the hoop and took it, driving before the Jayhawks could react and putting the ball in to match Cal's biggest lead of the half.